肉

ròu

HSK 3.0Level 2

Definitions

ròu (noun) meat; flesh

ròu (noun) pulp (of fruit)

ròu (adjective) flabby; soft

Etymology

Pictograph of a piece of meat.

About

肉 is a pictograph of a piece of meat, its internal lines suggesting muscle fibers or ribs. As an independent character it means meat, often pork in culinary contexts, and it serves as a radical in many characters related to the body, organs, and anatomy. When used on the left side or bottom, it typically becomes 月, which looks like the moon radical but signifies flesh or body parts.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢吃肉。

Wǒ xǐhuān chī ròu.

I like to eat meat.

猪肉比鸡肉贵。

Zhūròu bǐ jīròu guì.

Pork is more expensive than chicken.

妈妈买了新鲜的牛肉。

Māma mǎi le xīnxiān de niúròu.

Mom bought fresh beef.

弟弟不喜欢吃肥肉。

Dìdi bù xǐhuān chī féiròu.

My younger brother doesn't like to eat fatty meat.

这个餐厅的烤肉非常有名。

Zhège cāntīng de kǎoròu fēicháng yǒumíng.

The barbecue at this restaurant is very famous.

为了健康，他减少了吃红肉。

Wèile jiànkāng, tā jiǎnshǎo le chī hóngròu.

For health reasons, he has reduced his consumption of red meat.

这道菜需要把肉切成薄片。

Zhè dào cài xūyào bǎ ròu qiē chéng báopiàn.

This dish requires cutting the meat into thin slices.

从生物学角度讲，肌肉组织是动物肉的主要组成部分。

Cóng shēngwùxué jiǎodù jiǎng, jīròu zǔzhī shì dòngwù ròu de zhǔyào zǔchéng bùfèn.

From a biological perspective, muscle tissue is the main component of animal meat.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 肉

肉